


The Descent

by RosaClearwater



Series: Facetious Fusions [37]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: AU, As close as these two can get to friends that is, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Mall AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 04:25:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14908296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosaClearwater/pseuds/RosaClearwater
Summary: Because, sometimes, it feels like working in a mall is like crash-landing onto a planet where nothing of interest occurs.Except for the occasional dealings with the self-proclaimed law of the land, that is.





	The Descent

**Author's Note:**

> I've been waiting to bring DS9 into this series for ages! And now it's finally time :D
> 
> Also, there is one curse word in here, but other than that it’s pretty PG. Enjoy!

 

Malls were never interesting. 

 

That is, except for the attempted burglary and the occasional successful rip-off.

 

Now, Quark did feel there were some things that were an exception to this belief, but only a few. In comparison to jobs such as finance (in his opinion, a brilliant area for potential scams) or advertising (another wonderful opportunity to take advantage of people), being the manager of a mall restaurant was a little irritating.

 

Though that’s not to say it was  _ boring. _

 

After all, how could  _ that  _ ever be the case when he frequently had to deal with self-proclaimed law of the land?

 

_._

 

The first day their paths had intersected, it was really quite poor timing for Quark.

 

(Aka, he almost got caught in the middle of a little shady deal to make a little extra cash.)

 

“Care to explain yourself, Mr. Quirk?” Well, that mispronunciation had to be on purpose, seeing as how his name tag (and the lighted sign behind them) proudly spelled out his name.”

  
“It’s Quark.” And while first impressions are important, the shorter man wasn’t really in the mood to play nice. “And I’m not sure it’s really any of your concern, Mr. Odoo?” 

 

The lighter-skinned man merely scowled. “Odo.” Was the succinct response.

 

Unfortunately, this was probably going to be the most pleasant of their encounters.

 

_._

 

He only had one question after the end of the first week:

 

_ What kind of mall cop has a brown uniform? _

 

_._

 

At first, Odo seemed to arrange his patrols at random times -- clearly wanting to catch Quark (and any other potential criminals) off-guard.

 

And while it was damn annoying to deal with such a nuisance… it did help Quark distinguish who he should actually interact with, if he wanted to be successful as his… side ventures.

 

_ Not  _ that that meant the shorter man had any semblance of gratitude for the irritant that was the mall's only cop.

 

_._

 

“Do you actually  _ do  _ anything else?” It wasn’t his wittiest moment, but he couldn’t understand why someone would consistently pull twelve-hour shifts that involved walking up and down a hallway while attempting to look intimidating. Every. day.

 

Odo only harrumphed at this, clearly not interested in divulging any secrets.

 

Not that it would really matter in the long term.

 

Quark was only feigning interest, after all.

 

_._

 

Vandalism was such a petty act of crime that not even Quark had an interest in it.

 

So, go figure that  _ that  _ would be what the man would be greeted with at 7:55am in the morning.

 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” He almost growled, but was able to keep a level voice as he approached a familiar brown uniform. And his locked up restaurant -- a window smashed and graffiti smeared on the entrance. 

 

“Seems like someone wasn’t happy with your customer service.” The quip was certainly irritating to say the least.

 

The fact that Odo would later have the culprit found and arrested in less than two days was… definitely not.

 

_._

 

She was examining a nearby window display and while Quark already knew she was absolutely out of his league, he was surprised to find out something he didn't know: Odo had the ability to come to a rather flustered halt at the sight of his.

 

The following interaction of awkward nerves (Odo) and polite confusion (the woman) led to another stunning realization:

 

Odo actually cared about something other than the law.

 

(And Quark didn’t really know how he felt about that.)

 

_._

 

After two weeks of witnessing Odo clearly pine after the stranger, Quark wanted to throw up. 

 

Preferably on the mall cop's uniform.

 

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he was swamped with both official and unofficial business.

 

_._

 

“My dear friend,” Sarcasm was always a comforting companion, especially when dealing with the law. At the very least, it almost always grabbed the mall cop’s wary attention. “When what’s left of you gets around to what’s left to be gotten, what’s left to be gotten won’t be worth getting, whatever it is you’ve got left.”

 

Odo stared off in the distance, absolutely confused. Quark merely grinned.

 

Eventually, a response sounded out in the form of annoyed curiosity.

 

“When I figure out what that means, Quark, I’ll be sure to come up with a crushing reply.”

 

Meaning, Quark probably still had a few months before said reply would be delivered.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I so love Kira/Odo and Kira in general. It just felt appropriate to keep this one focused on Odo and Quark's hilarious relationship.
> 
> Also, for those following this series: I'm gonna amp the postings because I'm veerrry behind. In fact, I plan to be done in twelve days time at the latest. Aka, there'll be more than one posting per day if I can manage it ;D :)
> 
> So, without further adieu, our next quotation:
> 
> “Dear Kimberly,  
> I am sorry that I inadvertently sent the SWAT team to Kayla’s slumber party and made you cry. I’m sorry about the nightmares. It will never happen again.  
> Adrian Monk” - Monk
> 
> And our fandoms:  
> The Great Mouse Detective  
> Anastasia


End file.
